@article{mbs:/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.040055-0, author = "Turk, Michelle L. and Cacioppo, Laura D. and Ge, Zhongming and Shen, Zeli and Whary, Mark T. and Parry, Nicola and Boutin, Samuel R. and Klein, Hilton J. and Fox, James G.", title = "Persistent Helicobacter pullorum colonization in C57BL/6NTac mice: a new mouse model for an emerging zoonosis", journal= "Journal of Medical Microbiology", year = "2012", volume = "61", number = "5", pages = "720-728", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.040055-0", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.040055-0", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1473-5644", type = "Journal Article", abstract = " Helicobacter pullorum, an enterohepatic Helicobacter species, is associated with gastroenteritis and hepatobiliary disease in humans and chickens. Recently, a novel H. pullorum outbreak in barrier-maintained rats and mice was described. In this study, persistence of infection and serological responses were further evaluated in H. pullorum-infected female C57BL/6NTac and C3H/HeNTac mice obtained from the barrier outbreak. C57BL/6NTac mice (n = 36) aged 10–58 weeks were confirmed to be chronically infected with H. pullorum by PCR or culture of caecum, colon and faeces, with no evidence of hepatic infection; two of three C3H/HeNTac mice cleared H. pullorum infection by 26 weeks of age. A quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay based on the cdtB gene specific to H. pullorum demonstrated that colonization was high in the caecum and colon at 104–106 c.f.u. equivalents per µg host DNA, and decreased by several logs from 32 to 58 weeks of age. Infected mice were seropositive by ELISA, and H. pullorum-specific IgG levels decreased as colonization was lost over time in selected mice. Consistent with the lack of pathology associated with chronic infection of C57BL/6 mice with other murine enteric helicobacters, C57BL/6NTac and C3H/HeNTac mice infected with H. pullorum did not develop gross or histological lesions of the liver or gastrointestinal tract. The cdtB-based qPCR assay can be used in screening animals, food sources and environmental samples for H. pullorum, as this food-borne pathogen has zoonotic potential. These findings will also allow future studies in murine models to dissect potential pathogenic mechanisms for this emerging pathogen.", }